for some, windows is really expensive

Dealing with a Windows machine connected to the Internet can be a sink for time and money. I've seen some rather capable people (well known Ph.D.s) give up and replace machines rather than deal with the problem head-on. I've seen the same people snowed under six months later.

The Times makes note.

Great business for Microsoft, Dell and a few others...

A friend (Ph.D. astrophysicist who gave up Windows last year) says:

Windows is like a hot water heater that is rated for 4 months rather than 10 years.

For many people who are not methodical at systems administration and careful about their surfing, something other than a Windows box may be seriously less expensive and frustrating. I do "systems administration" for about a dozen friends and family members who use OS X. When they have a real problem they get in touch. I rarely hear from them.

Comments

[Alan Little]

Indeed. I was visiting a friend recently, who uses Windows on a dialup connection. His latest problem was that his antivirus software had so many updates, downloading them was tying up the phone line for lengths of time that the other people in the house found unacceptable.

I have an old iBook that I would consider donating to him. The problem is that my friend is a composer, and uses a seriously expensive piece of music notation software for which the publisher doesn't offer cross-platform licensing. Software switching costs are a major issue too for a lot of people - that's what kept me away from the Mac for a long time.